Optional Essay? Should I do this?

<p>The optional Duke essay is intriguing to me but I'm not sure if I should use the concept of my sexual orientation within it. I guess I can't really say that my sexual orientation has ever defined me, but I do think that it has pushed me to do certain things within my community (I started a social justice club that has blossomed and our social campaigns have led to discussions within our school community and beyond our school community to increase awareness and advocate for marginalized groups. We've basically been attempting to create a more accepting environment in our more conservative town and have been able to encourage students not to hide any part of themselves due to preconceptions (including LGBT identity but also things such as girls in science, self-segregation, and socioeconomic classism.)) I'm not sure if this will really add anything because I don't want the essay to just turn into a story of "I'm in the LGBT community and I've found strength and have wanted/will continue wanting to give strength to others" sort of thing since, honestly, I didn't really form the club because I wanted to be strong, but because I wanted to address issues that are never talked about in our community.</p>

<p>Sorry this is so long!
tl;dr should I do it? Should I mention my orientation at all or just the club? I'm kind of lost :/</p>

<p>Thanks so much for any help!</p>

<p>Obviously, only you can make this decision, however, your initial post (above) seems to provide a sound basis for the optional essay, especially WHAT THE CLUB HAS ACCOMPLISHED AS A RESULT OF YOUR EFFORTS. It’s concrete, it suggests worthy actions rather than pontification, and I’m quite sure these attributes will have considerable traction in Undergraduate Admissions. </p>

<p>Seconding @TopTier on this one–sounds like it could make a very rich optional essay. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Thank you so much @TopTier‌ and @BlueDevil15‌!!! I really appreciate all of the input!</p>